Combining stand-up with music has always been an experiment that We Are Scientists have pulled off with Grade A aplomb. Bunsen burners are generally exchanged for improv observations and witty asides to such a degree that their comedic timing has always threatened to elapse the music. Now, with one Scientist down after drummer Michael Tapper parted ways with his lab buddies last year, the remaining duo have to prove they can still get those tricksy chemical balances right on their UK comeback tour.
Opener Ghouls is a clever starting point, a sombre track that shares Editors’ obsession with Joy Division and casts any doubts aside about the pair’s musical ability. That it’s followed by Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt assures those who might not have heard new album Brain Thrust Mastery that W.A.S. haven’t traded in the sharp-angled indie anthems that brought them to our attention in the first place. In this newly configured experiment, the likes of oldies-but-goodies This Scene Is Dead and Inaction are the high-energy constants to independent variables Impatience, Let’s See It et al. These new tracks widen the boys’ science kit, throwing in guitars pretending to be sirens on new single Chick Lit and a surprisingly effective attempt at epic with After Hours.
Sparks are flying, with the requisite crowd-surfing and body-popping on the sweaty Academy floor, and the duo’s live presence is helped in no small part to new drummer Aaron Aaronson and some extra guitar work from members of their support band. Without these extra hands though, these two could surely wing it with their effervescent charm. Lead singer and guitarist Keith Murray has the fan-girls all riled up with his geek-chic looks but, together with bassist Chris Cain, the two of them impress with a fizzy rapport that acknowledges everything from James Brown ‘taking a dirt nap’ to the taping down of private appendages.
Before this attack on the audience’s collective funny bone can take precedence over the more important outcome of dancing punters, It’s a Hit raises the roof before newbies That’s What Counts and Lethal Enforcer form a decidedly ’80s-tinged encore. We’re taken right back to where it all began with closer The Great Escape, which sees no-one in attendance hesitating at Keith’s command, ‘Up! Up! Up!’. With a wipe of their sweaty brows, W.A.S. inform us eager disciples that we are ‘fucking awesome’ and invite us to their aftershow DJ set at Ramshackle. Alas, I was boring and didn’t go but, although the experiment may have continued, I was certainly happy with my results.
Luke McNaney